ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has initiated an inquiry to ascertain responsibility for fixing the challenge to Section 221-A (2) of the Customs Act, 1969, before a regular bench, headed by Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, instead of the SC constitutional bench, headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan.

An informed source confided to Dawn that the Registrar Office has issued the show-cause notice to officers of the Fixture Branch of the Supreme Court which fix cases before different benches to explain in a week’s time how the Customs Act case that involves legal interpretation was fixed before the regular bench.

How the case of the Constitutional Bench gets fixed in the regular bench, the notice stated while appointing Additional Registrar (Research) as head of the inquiry. The officers have been asked to respond to the notice within seven days.

Earlier, Additional Registrar (Judicial) Nazar Abbas was removed from his office by the Registrar Office while the regular bench initiated contempt of court case against the officer for withdrawing the case and fixing the same before the constitutional bench.

Later, the contempt notice was discharged against the officer and he was reinstated in his office.

Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2025